Title: A Uniform Look
Authors: Yasmine L. Konheim-Kalkstein
Source: American School Board Journal, Aug. 2006, Vol. 193, No. 8, pp. 24-27
Document Type: Journal Article
Database: SIRS
.
A Uniform Look
When students dress alike, proponents say, the school climate may
be improved
By Yasmine L. Konheim-Kalkstein
Since the 1990s, the practice of having public school students wear uniforms--like
their private school peers--has been credited with some amazing results. School
uniforms, proponents have said, can lead to improved discipline and classroom
behavior, increased school attendance, respect for teachers, better school performance,
higher student self-esteem and confidence, lower clothing costs, promotion of group
spirit, reduction in social stratification, and lower rates of violence and crime. Uniforms,
in short, seem like the solution to all of education's problems.
Of course, there have also been naysayers. They argue that requiring school
uniforms violates students' rights, that uniforms are not responsible for decreased
violence, that students will find other ways to compete, and that uniforms have no direct
bearing on academic achievement.
Which side is correct? Like so many other educational issues, the truth probably lies
somewhere between the two extremes. For answers, we can look to the research on
and articles about school uniforms, particularly in the areas of violence prevention,
school climate, and finances.
Early Signs of Success
Schools have always had dress codes, of course. But in 1986, Baltimore's Cherry
Hill Elementary School became the first U.S. public school to adopt a school uniform
policy. The policy was an attempt to reduce clothing costs for parents and to help curb
social pressures. According to a 1996 issue of Communicator, a newsletter published
by the National Association of Elementary School Principals, Cherry Hill Principal
Geraldine Smallwood reported increased attendance, reduced suspensions, less
frequent fighting, increased test scores, and improved school performance after
students began wearing uniforms.
A similar success story was reported when, in 1995, Long Beach, Calif., became the
first large urban school district to require uniforms for all students in kindergarten
through eighth grade. Five years later, overall crime in the school district had dropped
by 91 percent. Suspensions were down 90 percent, sex offenses had been reduced by
96 percent, and vandalism had gone down 69 percent.
New York City adopted a policy in 1999 that allowed schools to vote on whether to
opt out of a new school uniform policy. About 70 percent of the city's elementary
schools adopted school uniforms. In 2000, the Philadelphia School Board unanimously
adopted a districtwide policy requiring some type of uniform. That same year, 60
percent of Miami public schools required uniforms, as did 80 percent of public schools in
Chicago. Also, 37 state legislatures enacted legislation empowering local districts to
determine their own uniform policies.
With so many school districts adopting such policies, it seemed as though uniforms
were doing something to prevent violence, improve school climate, or help parents out
financially. A look at the research and literature on the effect of school uniforms on
these areas is revealing and can help you decide if such a policy would be useful in
your district.
Reducing Violence
Proponents suggest that school uniforms can reduce violence in schools by
diminishing gang influence and easing competition over clothing as a source of conflict.
In fact, gang violence is one of the most influential reasons for adopting uniform
policies. In urban schools, fashion trends are often characterized by gang-related
clothing. In theory, then, school uniforms would prevent gang activity by not allowing
students to wear gang colors or gang insignia. And in practice, there is some evidence
that this is true.
For example, a 1999 Education World article by Glori Chaika reported a significant
drop in gang violence in Chicago schools that adopted school uniforms. Similarly, in a
2003 Education and Urban Society article, Kathleen Wade and Mary Stafford reported
that teachers at schools with uniforms perceived lower levels of gang presence than
teachers at schools with no uniforms. This difference was significant, despite the fact
that the uniform schools were in areas with slightly higher numbers of gang-related
crimes. However, students in both types of schools perceived gang presence at the
same level. Students may see other signs besides clothing that hint of gang activity.
Clothing has caused other school conflicts as well. After introducing uniforms, the
Birmingham, Ala. schools reported a drop in weapon and drug incidents, and Houston
schools noted a decrease in violent crime. Interestingly, however, Miami-Dade counties
report that fights nearly doubled at their middle schools after schools adopted a uniform
policy.
How valid are the findings linking school uniforms to decreased violence? There is
substantial criticism on that point. In many of these school districts, other changes in
policy were being promoted at the same time--such as having more teachers patrolling
the hallways. These additional variables confuse the issue and must be controlled for
statistically in the research before drawing conclusions.
Improving School Climate
Obviously, less violence in schools translates to a better school climate, another
area that is said to be affected by school uniforms. And indeed, there is some evidence
that school uniforms may improve a school's environment by reducing competition,
improving student self-esteem, and improving academic achievement.
Writing in the NASSP Bulletin in 1997, Richard Murray reported on the results of a
survey of 306 middle school students in Charleston, S.C. Murray found that students in
a middle school with a uniform policy had a significantly better perception of their
school's climate than did students in a school without a uniform policy. Similarly, in
Charleston secondary schools, a South Carolina State University doctoral student found
in 1996 that a school with a uniform policy reported higher attendance, self-esteem, and
academic scores.
Winston Tucker, a University of Minnesota researcher, investigated the perceptions
of St. Paul teachers in 1999. He found that in schools where uniforms were worn,
teachers perceived more positive behavior and peer interactions. They also reported
fewer cliques, less teasing, and better self-esteem. On the other hand, Wade and
Stafford's survey of teachers and students revealed no difference between perceptions
of school climate in schools with and without uniforms.
Research on school uniforms and test scores is equally mixed. For example, a 1998
study by David Brunsma and Kerry Rockquemore, published in The Journal of
Educational Research, refuted the belief that uniforms will result in higher test scores.
Using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988, they found that in
Catholic schools, school uniforms had no direct effect on substance abuse, behavioral
problems, or attendance. More recently, however, researcher Ann Bodine criticized the
inferences drawn from this study. In a 2003 article in the same journal, she contended
that examination of public schools shows a positive correlation between uniforms and
achievement.
Like the research on a possible relation between school uniforms and reduced
violence, findings on uniforms and school climate have yielded no clear conclusion.
Saving Money
Advocates of school uniform policies argue that uniforms will save families money.
But Pamela Norum, Robert Weagley, and Marjorie Norton, writing in the Family and
Consumer Sciences Research Journal in 1998, concluded that families who buy school
uniforms spend more on clothing than families who are not required to do so. However,
a subsequent paper, presented by Michael Firmin, Suzanne Smith, and Lynsey Perry at
the 16th Annual Ethnographic and Qualitative Research in Education Conference,
points out that many parents believe a policy requiring school uniforms lowers clothing
costs, and others believe it would do so in the long run.
It seems clear that introducing a uniform policy results in more expense in the
beginning, but more research is needed to determine whether school uniforms save
families money. The experience of families at different socioeconomic levels should be
compared, rather than averaging across socioeconomic levels. It is possible that
families who struggle financially might depend on hand-me-downs or thrift stores to
begin with, and the cost of a new uniform substantially increases their clothing costs.
If a uniform policy is adopted, it will be important to take into account how to provide
uniforms for students whose families can't afford them. Some school districts collect
outgrown uniforms to distribute to needy families. Some give out donated money so
parents themselves can select their children's uniforms. California requires school
districts to subsidize the cost of uniforms for low-income students, and the U.S.
Department of Education's "Manual on School Uniforms" suggests that some type of
assistance should be given to needy families.
In some cases, school uniforms could save money, but it's clear that uniforms could
be a financial burden for many families.
Legal Considerations
Legal issues have surrounded the school uniform debate for two primary reasons:
claims that the school has infringed on the student's First Amendment right to free
expression and claims under the 14th Amendment that the school has violated the
student's liberty to control his or her opinion.
The 1998 case of Canady v. Bossier Parish School Board addressed the
constitutionality of student uniforms. In this landmark case, the Supreme Court upheld a
school's right to implement a school uniform policy, given four conditions:
• First, that the school board has the power to make such a policy;
• Second, that the policy promotes a substantial interest of the board;
• Third, that the board does not adopt the policy to censor student expression; and
• Fourth, that the policy's "incidental" restrictions on student expression are not
greater than necessary to promote the board's interest.
The American Civil Liberties Union has taken a stance against school uniform
policies and cautions schools against omitting an opt-out provision from such policies.
"For a public school uniform policy to be legal, it has to have an opt-out provision,"
wrote the ACLU's Loren Siegel on the organization's website in 1996. "Every child in
this country has the right to a public school education, and that right cannot be
conditioned upon compliance with a uniform policy. Some parents and children will have
religious objections to uniforms. Others won't want to participate for aesthetic reasons."
As we can see, powerful quantitative evidence suggests that uniforms can reduce
school violence, but these studies have not accounted for confounding variables.
Perceptions of teachers, parents, and administrators seem to strongly support the idea
that school climate is affected positively by school uniforms. They have reported more
positive learning environments and peer interactions after the introduction of uniform
policies. There remains, however, a lack of research on student's perspectives on
school uniforms.
The research is not conclusive, but the testimonials from teachers, parents, and
administrators alike are hard to ignore. Whether to require school uniforms should be a
school or district decision, and guidelines should be followed to make sure students'
rights are not violated. That is particularly important in cases where religious practice
calls for clothing or head covering that is not consistent with the accepted school
uniform. Provision should also be made for those families who can't afford to purchase
uniforms.
When these concerns are addressed--and when the idea is supported by the
community--school uniforms can be successful.
Policy Pointers
Before your district adopts a policy on school uniforms, you need to be aware of the
legal implications and take steps to ensure a smooth transition for schools and families
alike. The U.S. Department of Education's "Manual on School Uniforms" provides an
outline of important issues to consider. To summarize, the manual suggests the
following:
• Get parents involved from the beginning. Students won't wear school uniforms
unless their parents support the policy. So involve parents in choosing the uniform and
deciding the requirements and consequences for not upholding the policy.
• Protect students' religious expression. Many religions dictate what a person
should or should not wear. For example, certain religions require that the head or
certain parts of the body, such as knees or elbows, must be covered. Such attire must
be allowed, whatever uniform is chosen.
• Protect students' other rights of expression. A uniform policy should not prohibit
other rights of expression, so long as the "integrity" of the uniform is not undermined.
• Determine whether the policy should be voluntary or mandatory. Younger
students are more likely to support a uniform dress policy. Older students are not as
likely to comply when the policy is voluntary.
• Determine whether to have an "opt out" provision. In most cases, school
districts with mandatory policies allow students--usually with their parents' consent--to
opt out of the school uniform requirements. An opt out provision could mean that the
school will send the student to another school that has no uniform policy.
• Do not require students to wear a message. Schools should not impose on
students by requiring them to express an opinion or viewpoint on their clothes.
• Assist families that need financial help. In many cases, school uniforms are less
expensive than what a student would otherwise wear to school, but purchasing a
uniform may still be a burden on some families. A school could provide the uniforms to
students who cannot purchase them, or used uniforms could be made available to
incoming students.
• Treat school uniforms as part of an overall safety program. Other initiatives
might include truancy-reduction initiatives, drug-prevention efforts, and conflictresolution programs.
For more information: http://www.ed.gov/updates/uniforms.html.
Yasmine L. Konheim-Kalkstein (konh0001@umn.edu) is working on her Ph.D. in educational psychology
at the University of Minnesota.
Citation:
You can copy and paste this information into your own documents.
Konheim-Kalkstein, Yasmine L. "A Uniform Look." American School Board Journal Vol. 193,
No. 8. Aug. 2006: 24-27. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 04 Nov 2011.